The most commonly used method for detecting and treating diabetic patients, especially type I diabetics, (insulin dependent diabetes mellitus) is for the patient to provide the hospital, doctor or laboratory technician with a specimen of urine or blood, which is then analyzed with a chemistrip to determine the level of glucose in the blood. This is not a continuous monitoring system to specifically advise a patient when it is necessary for him or her to take insulin.
A technique disclosed for the continuous monitoring of blood glucose level is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,321, issued to March. In accordance with the technique described in the March '321 patent polarized light is passed through the body fluids in the eye, and the optical rotation of the light, which is a measure of the glucose concentration, is then detected. The detected output is then directed by a transmitting circuit to a suitable readout device. Another patent which discloses a system for examining the body fluids in the eye to determine the blood glucose level of a patient is U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,019, issued to Quandt. The problem associated with relying upon an examination of eye fluids to determine glucose level is that such fluid is not in equilibrium with that of the blood. In fact, it may take ten (10) to twenty (20) minutes for the fluid to reach a state of equilibrium with the blood. Thus, the glucose level determined through use of the clear fluid secretions in the eye are not as reliable as are often desired.